A Study in Greek Rhetoric: A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Letters of the Catholic University of America in Partial Fulfilment of the ... of Doctor of Philosophy (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

Thomas Ameringer

9780656625208: A Study in Greek Rhetoric: A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Letters of the Catholic University of America in Partial Fulfilment of the ... of Doctor of Philosophy (Classic Reprint)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0656625201 ISBN 13: 9780656625208

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

View all copies of this ISBN edition

0 Used

2 New

From US$ 39.36

The Second Sophistic meets St. John Chrysostom in a rigorous, evidence-based study.

This dissertation investigates how late Greek rhetoric shaped the sermons of the Eastern Church’s greatest orator, focusing on tropes, figures of speech, and ecphrasis found in Chrysostom’s panegyrics and related homilies. It presents a careful, scholarly view of how profane rhetoric influenced sacred speech, without assuming a direct one-to-one imitation.

This work traces the stylistic fingerprints of the Second Sophistic across Chrysostom’s rhetoric, comparing Greek rhetorical traditions with early Christian aims. It synthesizes prior scholarship and offers a measured assessment of where pagan technique informs Christian edification, not mere display.

Analysis of how metaphors from military, athletic, and hippodrome imagery appear in Chrysostom’s sermons
Examination of ecphrasis to distinguish ornament from meaningful moral instruction
Discussion of scholarly debates about the extent of sophistic influence on Chrysostom
Contextual framing within the broader dialogue between Hellenism and early Christianity

Ideal for readers of classical rhetoric, church history, and philology who seek a careful, source-based view of rhetorical influence in early Christian preaching. The book clarifies how ancient stylistic tools were adapted to convey faith, courage, and doctrine in a prosaic yet powerful form.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.